Man Googled 'Murder Defenses' After His Child's Mom Was Found Dead and Covered in Bleach: Police

A man in St. Louis has been charged with murder, more than three years after the mother of his child was killed in a shooting.

According to the probable cause statement filed in court and obtained by KSDK, FOX 2 and First Alert 4, 34-year-old Karl Mayberry was arrested on Wednesday, May 7, and charged with first-degree murder for the December 2021 shooting of his partner, 31-year-old Alvatyne Thomas.

The court document states that Thomas was shot and killed on Dec. 27, 2021. Police were called to a home in the 4000 block of Oregon Avenue for a welfare check, and found Thomas deceased with a “plastic bag taped around her head.” She also had swelling on her forehead, a severed ear and several defensive wounds. In addition, bleach had been poured over her body, the outlets reported.

Police said Mayberry told them at the time of the investigation that he was at work when Thomas was killed, but his coworkers told investigators that he left for several hours and came back wearing different clothes, appearing “distraught.”

Investigators also found online searches made on Mayberry’s phone near the time of Thomas’ death for “first-degree murder defenses” and “can ‘he say, she say’ be used against a person for murder in Missouri,” the outlets reported.

According to the court document, Mayberry also allegedly messaged someone after Thomas’ death, stating that the mother of his child was “found dead in the kitchen with a plastic bag wrapped around her head” before investigators shared any information about the case publicly. The 34-year-old allegedly also texted a criminal defense lawyer asking about the cost of representation in a murder case.

Thomas’ family members told police that she was in an abusive relationship with Mayberry, who is the father of her youngest child, the outlets reported, citing the court document.

Thomas’ older sister Dewanna Coleman told First Alert 4 that she felt a sense of peace after the charges were filed against Mayberry.

“I love her and I miss her. Just torn. I never would think Christmas would’ve been my last day seeing her,” Coleman said of Thomas, who was a mother of five.

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“I already knew he had a part in it. There was nobody else that would do that to her,” Coleman added.

Cheneish Johnson, Thomas’ other sister, also told the outlet that while she felt “happy” about the first-degree murder charge, she didn’t “feel justice will ever be served.”

“She’s gone, and we’ll never get her back. The kids will never see her again, yet he still gets to eat, take a bath, use the bathroom,” Johnson said.

Court records show that Mayberry is currently on probation for prior convictions, including assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is currently being held without bond at the St. Louis City Justice Center.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.